The History of Dark Shadows
by BobCollins1958
Summary: The inspiration for a story that has been popular since the 1960's. The little known background of the family that would become "Dark Shadows".


The History of "Dark Shadows"

By Bob Collins

It's that special time of year again, when our thoughts turn to ghosts and goblins. And as always, I will get a lot of good natured ribbing from friends asking, "Are you related to Barnabus?"

Well, in fact, I am. It somehow got lost in the lore that there really was a Collins family in colonial New England. And, in fact, the TV show that Dan Curtis developed in the 60's featuring my ancestral family, was based somewhat on the writings of Kathrine Collins, who faithfully kept a journal of the family's activities throughout her teen to later adult years. Now, before you go looking for crosses and wooden stakes, hear me out on this. Like all really good fiction, there has to be a shred of truth somewhere along the way to make the story, at the very least, somewhat believable.

We are very fortunate, not only from a descendant's point of view, but historically as well, that her journal survived through all the years. On her passing in 1770, the journal was given to the newly established library in Portland. The pages were eventually microfilmed 200 years later and the book placed in a vault (the location unknown…but it is rumored a private collector managed to get possession of it and it has not been seen since). I have only seen the microfilmed copy, never her original writing.

It is no secret to anyone that 17th and 18th century New England was a dangerous place to be, especially if you were thought to dabble in the "dark arts". And even those who walked the straight and narrow, far away from the crooked ways of witchcraft, were not immune from the persecutions associated with the witch hunts. Such was the fate of the Collins family in New England.

For those of you who remember the early episodes of Dark Shadows, you will recall they centered around the modern (60's) Collins family being subjected to the evils of a modern-day witch returning from the grave to haunt her child and husband. This story was loosely based on the happenings that surrounded the early Collins family.

Jonathan Winston Collins moved his family into a large estate home that he and his shipyard employees constructed along the rocky cliff tops of Cape Elizabeth. The year is not known for certain, but believed to be 1715. His family consisted of his wife Naomi, and children (in order of their age) Richard, Barnabus, Katherine, Silas and Mathew. Richard and Barnabus were both already "of age" and were taking care of the shipping business their father had started in Falmouth. Both spent most of their time at sea while also managing the offices both on the Falmouth River and in Galway Bay, Ireland, thus being rarely at home. Silas and Mathew attended English Grammar school in Boston and so were away from home quite often themselves. Katherine was taught by the governess hired by the Collins elders. She was 15 years old when she began the journal in 1717.

While on a special excursion to the new city of Nassau in the Bahamas, Richard met a British socialite, with whom he quickly fell in love with and proposed marriage to. Genevieve Ashby was the granddaughter of former Governor Nicolas Trott (whom had rebuilt the settlement of Charles-Town and renamed it Nassau, after the original settlement had been destroyed by Spanish marauders). As a respectable member of the nobility, Genevieve had a hand maiden to see to her every need. This young lady's name was Angelique Bouchard.

Angelique had been orphaned in New Providence after her parents were killed during a pirate raid on their vessel. Not ones to harm children, the pirates left Angelique at the port of New Providence to the care of a local family. Angelique learned the ways of the African immigrants and immersed herself in the practice of their voodoo rituals. She was visiting the common market one day when she met Admiral Walter Ashby. He was stricken by how she stood out from all the others…fair skinned, sharp, angular French facial features, long wavy blonde hair… and began talking with her about working for his daughter. While certainly not as refined at the British nobility, she was a fast learner and agreed to the job, willing to do anything to escape the poverty she had been living in the past 10 years.

When the time came for Richard Collins to return to Cape Elizabeth with his bride to be, Angelique was summoned to make the journey with Genevieve. The return to the coast of the Massachusetts Colony was uneventful. The trouble didn't start until Angelique met Barnabus.

Barnabus had just returned from Galway Bay and was dealing with problems that had arisen with the family's line of ships. He was aware of his brother's return from the Bahamas but not yet privy to the new relationship he had encountered. Barnabus returned to the Collins Manor ("Collinwood" was one of Mr. Curtis' many contrivances) late one evening after the family had retired, several days after his brother's return, and discovered the fully naked Angelique in the bath house.

What happened next is best left to the imagination. Suffice it to say, there was yet another new "relationship" at Collins Manor. But much to Angelique's dismay, what Barnabus sought from her was little more than what he would seek from any "wench" he would find in any port. And, as they say, hell hath no fury as that of a woman scorned.

Jacqueline Lorraine arrived in port just north of Cape Elizabeth two months after Richard's return. Jacqueline was a widow, whose husband had perished at sea during a sudden storm. Not wanting to remain in England, she sold her estate and took voyage to the New Colonies in hopes of finding a new life. She was at the magistrate's office filing a deed on property near Cape Elizabeth when Barnabus came in to file his shipping logs.

Barnabus recognized the hesitation of the magistrate to have "legal dealings" with the woman and stepped in to "arbitrate" the filing. Barnabus, familiar with the property, offered his own seal to vouch for Jacqueline's claim. Jacqueline, who was Barnabus' senior by five years, was grateful and asked Barnabus what she could do to repay him. Barnabus required of her to be his guest for dinner at the manor the following evening. She accepted his proposal.

You might have guessed by now that Jacqueline would become the character "Josette" in Mr. Curtis's telling of the tales in the 60's. I guess "Josette" does have a more enchanting, mystical and romantic tone to it.

Barnabus was more than just a little taken by Jacqueline, and their relationship quickly blossomed, much to the chagrin of Angelique. At first, it was mostly harmless "pranks". Jacqueline returned to her home to find a dead snake stretched out across the entry to her home. Then a few days later, she found a cloth sack, about the size of a small purse, tied to the handle of her front door. Opening the cloth sack, she found dozens of angry spiders.

Then Jacqueline returned home one day to find a series of odd shapes and text painted to her entryway. The paint used was blood. No one recognized what the "message" was. Then Barnabus recalled seeing a Caribbean Ship that had docked in Falmouth just two days prior, and seeing a worker disembark wearing a shawl with similar odd markings. He went into town and found the vessel's Captain tending to supplies. The Captain led Barnabus to the worker and together they all made way to Jacqueline's home. The worker identified the markings as a voodoo curse and hurriedly left the property.

Jonathan Collins called the family together and confronted Angelique with the incidents pertaining to Jacqueline. She, of course, denied any wrong doing. And Richard, to the defense of his wife's hand maiden, suggested that just as Barnabus had seen visitors in port who were familiar with voodoo, any of them could be the guilty party. Jonathan, for lack of solid evidence, had to recant. But the confrontation only strengthened Angelique's resolve.

And now, there was someone else she was angry with.

As I've noted already, I have only seen the microfilmed copy of Katherine's journal. But there were a few pages that particularly stood out, and I read, re-read them until almost memorized. It was as if the images needed to be burned into my memory.

Jonathan Winston Collins was killed during a freak thunderstorm a week or so after the confrontation with Angelique. This was in my ancestor's writings…

"Three days after my father's death, one of the men who was working for him in the forest, talked to me about the accident. He said they were felling trees for shipyard timber when a storm seemed to come from nowhere. It was particularly odd that the clouds came in from the northeast, he noted. Without warning, a bolt of lightning pierced through my father's chest. The sudden flash of light was blinding, but above them on the hill, he saw a silhouette of a person wearing a hooded cape. But it was only for an instant. He said he blinked to clear his sight and to look again and get a better view, but the person was gone."

Her writings for the next dozen or so pages were descriptions of their normal daily activities, nothing out of the ordinary. And then the next chapter of the Collins family legend began.

"My older brother Barnabus was found in his bedroom of the manor. He had been attacked by some type of wild animal and was lying in a small pool of blood in the floor next to an open window. Dr. Lofstrom noted two small puncture wounds on Barnabus' neck, and the blood pool being due to the opened artery. The doctor believes Barnabus will be okay."

A few pages later…

"Barnabus appears to be quite mad. He has a high fever and has constant bouts of nausea. He seems to be hallucinating endlessly and raves about creatures not of this earth. Dr. Lofstrom has theorized that Barnabus was bitten by a rabid bat that had come in thru his open window and attacked him while he slept. Poor Barnabus. We know not what to do for him."

Jacqueline Lorraine returned from tending to family matters in England three weeks after Barnabus was attacked. She sat with Barnabus daily for hours on end, providing relief to the nurse that had been hired to stay at the manor. One evening (it is not known how much time had passed since her return from England) she left to fetch some personal belongings from her home.

She never returned. Her body was found among the outcropping of rocks below what was known as Bay View Cliff.

It goes without saying that they did not have the advantage of an NCIS forensic pathologist to examine Jacqueline's remains, so there was very little to go on other than hearsay suspicion. And since Angelique had already been implicated in several incidents involving Jacqueline Lorraine, she was immediately a "person of interest". And were it not for, what was quite literally, one small thread of evidence, she might have gotten away with it.

Just hours after her body was found, one of the watchmen accompanying the constable came across a small shred of cloth caught on a briar vine, no more than a hundred yards from the edge of Bay View Cliff. The constable pursed the cloth and made his way to Collins Manor to confirm the dire news to Barnabus.

He made his way thru the upstairs hall to Barnabus' bedroom, and just prior to entering, he heard a voice from inside screech, "If I can't have you, no one can!" He burst into the room to find Angelique with knife in hand, about to plunge the dagger into Barnabus' chest. Her hesitation at seeing the constable was enough for Barnabus to awaken and block the thrust of her attack. Angelique was subdued and taken to the Falmouth Village Courthouse, where she would remain until her trial.

What Katherine wrote about those proceedings sounded like something out of a Stephen King story. Angelique was bound to the chair reserved for the accused. She was stoic, distant and madness filled her eyes. The constable produced the small piece of cloth they had found near the side of the cliff, and matched it with the dress Angelique was still wearing. He then told the story about the encounter at the manor (I assume this to be where Kathrine got that information to include in her writings) and her obvious intent to murder Barnabus Collins. She refused to respond to questioning and would only stare at the magistrate unblinking, while panting like a dog. When the trial began that morning, the sun was shining through clear skies. When the magistrate stood to read the verdict, a sudden darkness overtook the town. Storm clouds billowed low over the village and thunder rumbled over the bay into the town. Angelique was found to be guilty of murdering Jacqueline Lorraine and sentence to be hanged.

The journal then noted…

"Angelique suddenly arose from the chair she had been bound to, as if the tethers never existed. Her eyes were dark with evil as she surveyed the people who occupied the tiny courtroom. A laugh echoed through the chamber, though no one could be seen to utter it. It was the laugh of a maniacal, diabolical woman. Angelique uttered curses in a tongue unknown to anyone there. Then, she screamed, 'You fools! You think you can destroy me?!' And with her curse she suddenly burst about with fire. Lightning struck the floor where she stood. The light was blinding. When all had recovered from the concussive clap made, Angelique was but a smoldering heap. The floor was not charred. We all knew that true evil had been in our presence."

I've seen David Copperfield pull off the illusion of a lightning strike, but he stopped short of setting himself ablaze. And, Mr. Copperfield has far better resources and technological advantage than someone in the 18th century would have access to. So how Angelique was able to create the spectacle that she did is a complete mystery. The constable noted to the people present that she may have ingested gun powder and also hid some on her person that morning before the proceeding. But even how she could do that is beyond comprehension. If she had intended to make those in the room believe she was a witch, she succeeded. As was customary in the century prior, women believed to be and convicted of being a witch were put to death and buried in unmarked graves. The absence of a headstone was due to the belief that engraving the name of the witch could grant her immortality. It was also seriously bad luck to ever repeat the name of a witch. And so, Angelique's burned remains were put into a grave whose whereabouts were known only to the watchmen who buried her.

Katherine was the only member of the Collins family to attend the trial of Angelique. Barnabus was still bedridden. Richard felt remorse for having defended Angelique months past and feared personal persecution for those actions. Silas and Mathew were away at school. Naomi remained at Collins Manor until her passing at the age of 61.

Barnabus left Cape Elizabeth as soon as he was well enough to travel. He relinquished his claim to the family shipping business and set about to begin anew. Katherine noted in her writings, "I fear I shall never see my older brother again." As far as could be discerned from the rest of the journal, she never did. Barnabus did, however, write to Katherine often, keeping her abreast on his whereabouts and activities.

In mid-1727, Barnabus settled in Boston and found work assisting the harbor master. He noted in his early letters to Kathrine, "The work is beneath my level of seamanship, but it affords me time to contemplate what my next day will bring." He never married, at least not by Kathrine's knowledge. And if he ever did anything adventurous, he never wrote her about it.

In one of her last writings about letters received from Barnabus, she repeated his words into the journal… "My dearest Kathrine. It is with all hope this finds you well. I am good, today. Sleep comes easier some nights for me now. I must accept the nightmares will never cease, but I also know they are but that. I do sometimes fear madness may overtake me. I still feel the poison course through my veins from that attack those three years hence. And I recognize that I am but alone here in this bay city. I often fret of what will become of me, should I be incapacitated in any way. I composed a document and left it filed with the magistrate. In it, I outlined my wishes should death find me such that I may not be able to speak them otherwise. I sealed the writings and included enough currency to offset expenditures incurred by my passing and arrangements. I pray the letter never be unsealed. I will take leave of you now. Know that I love you and I hope to see you again soon. Your Brother, Barnabus."

The entry in the journal was dated March 19th, 1729. Barnabus died a few weeks later.

On the 8th day of June, 1729, Kathrine wrote the following… "My oldest brother, Richard, came to see me today. I knew he was with heavy heart as soon as the door was opened and he entered. He had been visited by the Constable of Portsmouth. Our brother had passed away and there had been some terrible incident during the transport of his remains to Cape Elizabeth. Barnabus had instructed the authorities to have his body returned home for interment. He had left sufficient funding to care for the arrangements. But after the first evening of travel, the carriage driver awoke in the morning to find the hearse had been breached, and the body of our dear brother was missing. The constable theorized a pilferer who assumed the deceased to have valuables. They searched the forested area where the driver had tied off for the evening, but could find only the scarf that have been placed around his head. He assured Richard they would continue to investigate the disappearance and inform him of a conclusion. My heart is broken."

Based on her entries for the next several months, she continued to grieve for her departed brother. Her writings were listless, even pointless at times. She began to skip days without writing, then weeks in between entries. Then the weeks turned into months. I noticed at one point the entries had been separated by over two years. Then in 1768, she began writing frequently again. And it was always the same…

"I saw Barnabus tonight! As I gazed thru the barred window I could see him standing near the entry gate. I beckoned him to come inside. But he turned away and walked into the night."

Although worded differently, each subsequent entry bore the same message. And then, a final entry was made into the journal…

"Today, the 17th day of September in the year of our Lord, 1770, Miss Kathrine Collins passed away peacefully in her sleep. Since her residence here in Philadelphia at the Friends Society Church, she has been by far the most docile of those here. She has been a blessing to us in our beginnings of understanding mental illnesses. We will miss her terribly. She will be laid to rest here at the mission, but I will see to it that this journal be returned to her family on the northeastern coast. We will never know why she claimed to be haunted by the ghost of a witch, or why she claimed this specter tormented her endlessly. We cared for her to the best of our abilities, and we hope she finds eternal peace in the arms of our Lord."

"Mental hospitals" had not been established in the colonies during the early 1700's. Those diagnosed as such would either be sent to a facility in England (those who afford the treatments) or sent to a prison facility, if they were of a particularly disturbed state. Most were left to their own, others cared for by family. But a group of Quakers in the Pennsylvania colony had established a "home" where non-violent patients could be watched for, and Richard Collins had arranged for Katherine to be enlisted there.

Two more slides were part of the microfilmed journal. The first of those was the equivalent of what we would now refer to as a "death certificate". The second was a newspaper clipping that had been inserted into the journal at some point in time. It was dated October 29, 1890, from the Portland Advertiser.

"Fire destroyed the home of the Armbrister family on Cape Elizabeth this evening. The home, believed to have been constructed in the very early 1700's, was fully involved before firefighting teamsters arrived at the residence. A witness to the blaze, who identified himself as Barnabus Collins, a visitor from Galway Bay in Ireland, described seeing a lightning strike in the area before the fire ensued."

There appeared to be more to the clipping, but it was not captured on the microfilm.

Many, many questions surround the journal and its content, not the least of which is the validity of any of the writings. It is impossible to say whether Katherine had always suffered from mental illness or if something happened when she was older. Her writings seemed to be coherent and fluid, and most of the family history in her early writings can be verified with other historical documents. Her entries were almost daily until the events leading up to the trial of Angelique. There was a space of just over a month after the death of Angelique that nothing was written. Maybe this is when "the cheese slipped off the cracker". Maybe this is when the family placed her in the care of the Quakers. It is most odd that she never acknowledged being in their company in any of her writings. Perhaps at that point, she had become so withdrawn that reality no longer existed for her. She never wrote of being haunted by the ghost of Angelique, yet her caregiver acknowledged she had confided in him / her that she was tormented by a specter. We will never know.

As for the newspaper clipping that was inserted into the journal, most all of us who have studied this agree that someone on Cape Elizabeth knew the history of the Collins family and decided to have a little fun at the expense of an unsuspecting newspaper writer. And that same someone would have made sure the clipping was added to the journal when "no one was looking". It was, after all, at that time a public volume in the library that anyone could study.

And that, my friends, is the history behind the history of "Dark Shadows". As the late, great Paul Harvey was fond of saying, "Now you know, the rest of the story."

For afternoon TV of the 60's, this was already a major step away from the mainstream soap operas. But as unique as it was, it still didn't have everyone's attention, the way Mr. Curtis had hoped. The storyline of the witch haunting the family was running into a wall, and he needed something to boost interest in the show. Revisiting the journal, he saw the horror story that was just waiting to be written. And so, the tale of Barnabus Collins, the vampire, was born, securing "Dark Shadows" place in TV history forever.

But it was just a story, after all. An enchanting tale of a love stricken vampire based loosely on the misgivings of a family in colonial New England. There's no such things as witches, werewolves or vampires. That is all just fiction.

Isn't it?

The End

(for now)

Bob Collins

fretlessbass

Please note…this is a work of fan fiction. "Dark Shadows" is the intellectual property of Dan Curtis Productions, and God only knows who owns publication / production rights. Google it and you'll come up with at least a half dozen media outlets claiming ownership. But to all that it may concern, know that I have not accepted any payment for this work, nor will I. This was written to be enjoyed by fans of "Dark Shadows" and those who have not yet discovered the mystical, magical world of the occult that it created. Feel free to share amongst yourselves.


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